preachers 300 years ago in the time of the Puritans, and 200 years ago in the time of Whitefield and others, always engaged in what they called a preliminary 'Law work.'"
Martyn Lloyd-Jones "The first duty of the gospel preacher is to declare God's Law and show the nature of sin." Martin Luther 4:20 There is a wise saying: "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." That is solid advice when you are dealing with sinful mankind. But the promises of God—of forgiveness of sin, of peace with God through trusting in the Savior, of a new heaven and a new earth—come from a faithful Creator, and there is no greater insult to God than not to believe His promises.
CHAPTER 5 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation works patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
5 And hope makes not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given to us.
6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
8 But God commends his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
11 And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.
12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
13 (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.
14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.
15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus
Christ, has abounded to many.
16 And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences to justification.
17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus
Christ.) 18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men to justification of life.
19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:
21 That as sin has reigned to death, even so might grace reign through righteousness to eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.
5:8 "God proved His love on the cross.
When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, 'I love you.'" Billy Graham 5:14 Many years ago, a man jumped off a high bridge in an effort to end his life.
Fortunately, he lived through the ordeal but broke his back as a result of the fall, and ended up in a wheelchair. His attempt to take his life caused a great deal of distress, to those in control of the bridge, to paramedics, to traffic, and especially to his family.
Authorities wanted to press charges against him but they couldn't; since this was the city's first suicide attempt, they had no law forbidding such an act. He escaped the consequences of the law of man, but suffered the painful consequences of breaking another law, the law of gravity.
In the same way, every person in Adam still sinned and therefore suffered the consequences of breaking the then unwritten moral Law—"the soul that sins, it shall die"
(Ezekiel 18:4). Death reigned as king, with a